Goshorn - 1943
1943 Lula Goshorn Diary
Ladoga, Indiana
"A little background from Judy Goshorn, Lula & Ezra's granddaughter"
My grandfather, Ezra Goshorn, kept a journal, which I have somewhere. He died in April 1930 and that is when these start. Lula wrote for her church magazine and the county paper, but apprently had not been keeping a journal. The first entry is a few days after Ezra's funeral, when the oler (Marie, John and Roland) children were going back to their lives. Only two children were left at home, my dad, Lewis, age 15, and Ruth, age 9. The running of the farm fell to my dad and Lula. I am amazed at the work a 15-year-old boy did, while attending school and doing well there.
Many of the snapshots I have are early 30s and make good illustrations for this journal :) ENJOY! - JWG
Note: Their church was the Brethren Church on 750 South - Ezra had both the pastors :)
1931 -- 1932 -- 1933 -- 1934 -- 1935 -- 1936 -- 1937 -- 1938 -- 1939 -- 1940 -- 1941 -- 1942 -- 1943 -- 1944
1943 GOSHORN DIARY
Jan 4 – Finished the floor job. Very cold bad weather most of the time did
not work all the time. Have a wonderfully improved room so nice & light.
Feb 25 – Sowed clover seed on wheat field east of barn here.
Mar 26 – First weather & ground fit to sow oats. Paul
sowed his today. We’re not sowing.
Apr 24 – Finished plowing for corn.
May 1 – Commencement at No. Manchester. Ruth graduated with
Distinction receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education. Has the
promise of teaching the first grade in Ladoga school 1943-44. Fine work and lots of it with office work
combined all thru the years.
May 5- Finished plowing for soy beans, have plowed nearly 80
acres since early April besides doing lots of other work. Lewis has.
May 9 – Mr. and Mrs. John (& Elsie) Brough (pronounced
Burr – moved into Lewis’ house. He works for Virgil Martin. She walks with a
crutch. Has the use of one leg.
May 29 – Dannie? Miller commenced to build a new kitchen
chimney.
May 30 – Lewis finished planting his corn. Has been a cold
rainy spring. Biggest floods in Ind in 30 years, the past 3 weeks.
June 5- Finished planting corn. Lewis twice disced, some
places 3 times and planted about 48 acres in 5 ½ days and did it alone. Has put
in a week of 16 hour days. Ruth has taken care of milking 7 cows and the yard,
garden and other chores.
June 7 – George Kessler 75 yrs old was instantly killed when
a freight train hit his auto as he was crossing the railroad, coming from
Ladoga.
June 11 – Finished planting soybeans today. Roland has been
home for a week and helped very much. He leaves tomorrow. He and Ruth inoculated 38 bu of beans one
morning and 18 the next day. Pretty hard on a tender person not used to manual
labor.
June 23 – Ruth had a chest Xray at Culver Hospital. Required
of all school teachers. Negative.
July 13 – Roy & Marie came for a short visit. Had not
been home for two years. They looked young and well. A fine couple. Seemed strange not to have the
boys along. Had to come on train on account of war conditions, gasoline and
driving restrictions. A woman kept house for Billy and Donnie. Richard is in
school. They started back the 17th. We enjoyed their visit very
much.
Aug 10 – Dannie Miller finished work here. Has repaired 3
barns, 2 houses for us and house & barn for Lewis.
Aug 11 – Krug plumbers finished putting in pipes for water
in kitchen.
Aug 26 – Richard (Dick) Davis commenced to paint the
trimming and putty the windows here. Was to start in June.
Sept 2 – Lewis gave a pint of blood at the Red Cross. They
tapped both arms. (Note: Lewis was not able to go to the war because of his feet but was compelled to do something to help the others who did -- thus, he gave blood several times)
Sept 6 -- Ruth commenced teacher her first school. First
grade 31 pupils Ladoga public school.
Sept 21 – Lewis bought 1937 combine $86.10 ceiling price at
Riff Brown & Son Sale near Mellott.
Sept 22 – Lewis bought tractor outfit & bull rake of Tom
Foster.
Sept 24 – Had first killing frost.
Sept 29 – R. Davis finished painting here.
Oct 6 – Marie operated on for febroid tumors of the uterus
at Sibley Hospital No Capitol and M Sts, Washington DC. Operation apparently
successful – and we are so thankful.
Oct 18 – Bryce Johnson & brother finished spry painting
the barn & shop sheds here and Lewis’ house. Helps the looks of things very
much. Have wanted it done for so long.
Nov 3 – Lewis began picking corn this week and picked the
field east of the other barn in 18 hours. Filled the west crib at that barn and
the east one 2 thirds full. One can’t
get “huskers by hand” any more.
Nov 5 – Lewis picked about 500 bu corn this afternoon. Have
the corn all done on this place. His is to pick yet and a field for Paul which
is half ours. The little house has about 500 bu in it and two rails pens north
of it hold 500 more. Corn got in late this yr but the summer was good corn
weather and the corn is nice.
Nov 17 – Finished all our corn picking and Paul’s. Had some
severe cold winds and weather to work in. So glad its done. Ruth is going out
with the music teacher, Chas. Geyer of Indianapolis.
Clyde Mote painted wood work I kitchen light buff and
papered the walls. Looks so much better and is so much lighter. Woodwork was
dark blue.
Nov 26 – Finished corn husking. Ours, Lewis’, Paul M, Calvin
Terrys and Kesslers. About 9000 bu. HAS HAD more calls than could fill. One
more neighbor has asked for help and Lewis will do that then quit. Has so much
other work to do.
Nov 30 – Finished corn picking for this year and all
together has done over 20,000 since Nov 3 with several bad days out when
couldn’t husk. That is a lot of work in a short time.
Dec 1 – A cloud came over my right eye, partly obscuring the
sight. Dr. Lengeman said it is an arteriosclerous condition of the retina. May
the Lord deliver me from total blindness.